Fantasy Football: Who to Start in N.F.L. Week 12

Alvin Kamara has been electric for the Saints and fantasy owners this season.CreditWesley Hitt/Getty Images

By Justin Sablich

Nov. 22, 2017

On the surface, Thanksgiving and fantasy football don’t really work well together.

By the time Week 12 rolls around, all the excitement from the summer fantasy drafts has long settled, and you’re left trying to decide which mediocre running back to start because the ones you deftly drafted, David Johnson and Dalvin Cook, have been on injured reserve.

But if your team has weathered the storm and is still in playoff contention, Week 12 brings some relief.

The bye weeks are over, and so are the days of having to get by with the likes Cole Beasley and Joe Flacco in your lineup. We also have 11 weeks worth of performance data to help us make decisions on who to start and sit.

Quarterback

Matt Ryan (ATL vs. Buccaneers) — He’s been consistently decent this season, but has only been a top 10 fantasy quarterback twice this season (standard scoring). Ryan also hasn’t topped 20 fantasy points yet through 11 weeks. I’m expecting him to finally end that streak this week at home against the Buccaneers, who have given up the third most passing yards and the seventh most fantasy points per game (18.9) to opposing quarterbacks this season. Ryan has also had four straight games with at least two touchdown passes, and three of those games have been on the road.

Ben Roethlisberger (PIT vs. Packers) — Roethlisberger has nine passing touchdowns in his past four games, including his four-touchdown performance last week against the Titans. He should continue his recent run of success at home (where he has traditionally played much better) against the Packers. Green Bay has only given up 16.1 F.P.P.G. to quarterbacks this season, but this secondary is more vulnerable than those numbers indicate. The Packers gave up at least 20 fantasy points to the three quality quarterbacks they’ve faced since Week 5 (Dak Prescott, Drew Brees and Matthew Stafford) while succeeding against lesser talents (Joe Flacco, Mitch Trubisky and Case Keenum).

Also Consider: Ryan Fitzpatrick (TB at Falcons)

Running Back

Dion Lewis (NE vs. Dolphins) — Choosing a Patriots running back in fantasy football is always a difficult task, as they tend to use as many as possible on any given game day. But lately, Lewis and Rex Burkhead (in P.P.R. formats) have been consistent producers. Lewis has averaged 15 touches over the past three games, and has 26.3 fantasy points in his last two games combined. Against the Dolphins, a team that has given up the sixth most F.P.P.G. (21.5) over the past five weeks, Lewis is a very solid RB2 in most fantasy formats.

Alvin Kamara/Mark Ingram (NO at Rams) — The consistency from the Saints backfield in terms of fantasy production has been astounding. Over the past seven games, only 3 of the 14 total performances from the duo have been outside the top 12 for running backs or have fallen below 12 fantasy points. Eight of the 14 performances have been for at least 15 fantasy points. Both are getting enough work to easily be considered RB1s against a Rams team that has yielded the third most F.P.P.G. to the position, including five different performances of at least 20 fantasy points.

Also Consider: DeMarco Murray (TEN at Colts)

Wide Receiver

Devin Funchess (CAR at Jets) — In the two games the Panthers have played since Kelvin Benjamin was traded to the Bills, Funchess has 10 catches and 29.8 fantasy points (3rd most among receivers for Weeks 9-10). But he’s been a favorite of Cam Newton’s the whole season, with at least six targets in every game since Week 1. The Jets haven’t been great defending receivers for most of the season, but have particularly struggled of late, allowing 26.2 fantasy points to the position over the last five weeks, the sixth most during that span.

Jarvis Landry (MIA at Patriots) — Despite dealing with the fragile quarterback situation that Jay Cutler provides each week, Landry has been a rock of consistency, failing to top at least nine fantasy points just once over his last seven games. In fact, he has the fifth most fantasy points for his position since Week 5. Last week against the Raiders was the first time all season that the Patriots did not allow an opposing receiver to score at least 10 fantasy points in a game and have yielded the fourth most fantasy points to the position overall.

Tight End

Tyler Kroft (CIN vs. Browns) — The Browns have allowed a tight end to score a touchdown in six of 10 games this season, so you’d have to consider starting any tight end that plays them. Kroft found the end zone last week against the Broncos before leaving with a hand injury. There are definitely better tight end options than Kroft this week, but if you in need of an injury-fill in player, or are looking for a bargain D.F.S. play, you could do much worse than Kroft (assuming he’s healthy enough to play.